Strategy. The Fund normally invests a minimum of 30% of its net assets in equity securities and a minimum of 30% of its net assets in debt securities. From time to time, the Fund may temporarily invest less than 30% of its net assets in equity or debt securities as a result of market conditions, individual securities transactions or cash flow considerations. Asset Allocation Investment Process : Asset allocation decisions are made by a Committee chaired by New York Life Investment Management, the Funds Manager, in collaboration with MacKay Shields LLC (MacKay Shields), the subadvisor for the fixed-income portion of the Fund. Asset allocation decisions are determined based on the relative values of each asset class, inclusive of the ability of … Show more… The Fund normally invests a minimum of 30% of its net assets in equity securities and a minimum of 30% of its net assets in debt securities. From time to time, the Fund may temporarily invest less than 30% of its net assets in equity or debt securities as a result of market conditions, individual securities transactions or cash flow considerations. Asset Allocation Investment Process : Asset allocation decisions are made by a Committee chaired by New York Life Investment Management, the Funds Manager, in collaboration with MacKay Shields LLC (MacKay Shields), the subadvisor for the fixed-income portion of the Fund. Asset allocation decisions are determined based on the relative values of each asset class, inclusive of the ability of each asset class to generate income. The Fund may use equity index and fixed-income futures to manage effective exposure, for example, by adding exposure to the equity markets or adjusting fixed-income duration exposure. Neither equity index futures nor fixed-income futures are counted toward the Fund's equity or fixed-income allocation guidelines. Equity Investment Process : Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. ("Epoch"), the Subadvisor for the equity portion of the Fund, invests primarily in companies that generate increasing levels of free cash flow and have managements that allocate it effectively to create shareholder value. The security selection process focuses on free-cash-flow analytics as opposed to traditional accounting-based metrics. The Subadvisor seeks to identify companies with a consistent, straightforward ability to both generate free cash flow and to intelligently allocate it among internal reinvestment opportunities, acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and/or debt reduction. The security selection process focuses on free-cash-flow analytics as opposed to traditional accounting-based metrics. Epoch seeks to identify companies with a consistent, straightforward ability to both generate free cash flow and to intelligently allocate it among internal reinvestment opportunities, acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and/or debt reductions. Material environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are identified and monitored by Epoch. Material ESG factors vary by company and industry, but Epoch pays particular attention to factors relating to climate change and corporate governance. This information is taken into account by Epoch in making investment decisions. Material ESG factors are identified and monitored by Epoch through review of ESG information published by the company (where relevant) or selected specialist third-party research and data providers. While Epoch considers ESG factors in the investment decision-making process of the Fund, this does not mean that ESG considerations are the sole or foremost considerations for investment decisions. Epoch seeks to find and invest in companies that meet its definition of quality-companies that are free cash flow positive or are becoming free cash flow positive and that are led by strong management. The relevant factor in Epochs decision on how to deploy free cash flow is the cost of capital and the prospective returns on capital. Fixed-Income Investment Process : The Fund may invest in investment grade and below investment grade debt securities of varying maturities. In pursuing the Fund's investment objective, the Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in debt securities that MacKay Shields believes may provide capital appreciation in addition to income and are rated below investment grade by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or if unrated, deemed to be of comparable creditworthiness by MacKay Shields. For purposes of this limitation, both the percentage and rating are counted at the time of purchase. If NRSROs assign different ratings to the same security, the Fund will use the higher rating for purposes of determining the security's credit quality. Securities that are rated below investment grade by NRSROs are commonly referred to as high-yield securities or "junk bonds." MacKay Shields investment process includes a risk analysis that gives consideration to a variety of security-specific risks, including but not limited to, ESG risks that may have a material impact on the performance of a security. In addition to proprietary research, MacKay Shields may use screening tools and, to the extent available, third party data to identify ESG risk factors that may not have been captured through its own research. MacKay Shields consideration of ESG risk is weighed against other criteria and no sectors or industries are explicitly excluded from the Fund. The Fund maintains a flexible approach by investing in a broad range of securities, which may be diversified by company, industry and type. Principal debt investments include U.S. government securities, domestic and foreign debt securities, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities and floating rate loans. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg. The Fund may also enter into mortgage dollar roll and to-be-announced ("TBA") securities transactions. The Fund may also invest in convertible securities such as bonds, debentures, corporate notes and preferred stocks or other securities that are convertible into common stock or the cash value of a stock or a basket or index of equity securities. Investments Across the Fund : The Fund may invest in derivatives, such as futures, options, forward commitments and swap agreements, to try to enhance returns or reduce the risk of loss by hedging certain of its holdings. The Fund also may use fixed-income futures for purposes of managing duration and yield curve exposures. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in swaps, including credit default swaps. The Subadvisors may sell a security if they no longer believe the security will contribute to meeting the investment objective of the Fund. In considering whether to sell a debt security, MacKay Shields may evaluate, among other things, deterioration in the issuer's credit quality. Epoch may sell or reduce a position in a security if, among other things, it sees an interruption to the dividend policy, a deterioration in fundamentals or when the security is deemed less attractive relative to another security on a return/risk basis. Epoch may also sell or reduce a position in a security when it believes its investment objectives have been met or if it sees the investment thesis is failing to materialize. Show less